The former director of the Teva Learning Center, Nili Simhai is a leader of the Jewish environmental education movement. She has trained and counseled hundreds of educators in the pedagogy of Jewish environmental education and has put environmental sensibilities and programs squarely in the middle of Jewish educational programming and outreach. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education. In addition, she is proud of her role in the creation of Teva’s Shomrei Ḥayyot, Yitziah, and “Bringing It Back to Our Schools” programs, as well as her contribution to the development of several Teva curricula.

Passionate about all of Creation, Nili’s background includes study and work in ecological concerns ranging from wildlife conservation, wetland remediation, and entomology (Ohio State University) to ornithology (International Birdwatching Center in Eilat, Smithsonian Institute) and natural history (Natural History Museum of Cleveland). She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with her husband Yosh and her little boy, Tal.